(A 911 Buddie Fic) You Were Made From Scars

Chapter 8

"How's he been doing?" Maddie asked, handing Chimney another plate to dry.

She didn't need to say who she was talking about, they both knew. Chimney had been waiting for the topic of Buck to come up since getting home. But truthfully, now they were cleaning up after dinner and Jee was finally asleep, it was the first time they had truly had time to talk all night. She only briefly met his eyes when she asked, as if she was trying to show she wasn't being an overbearing sister who wanted to know all about her little brother's last few days at the firehouse.

She wasn't fooling Chimney in the slightest, and he loved her for it.

"He's Buck," Chimney answered, stilling as he held onto the plate. "And it's weird."

"How so?" Maddie tilted her head, brow furrowing as she gave him her full attention now, dishes forgotten.

"I don't know. I just... I guess I expected this blank slate of a guy who barely knew his ABCs, but instead, it feels like it's Buck, but from like an alternate universe or something." Chimney shook his head as he thought back to the previous couple of shifts. He put the plate and cloth down and leaned against the counter, pursing his lips. "He knows things without anyone telling him, and he doesn't even realise how weird it is that he knows unless someone points it out."

Maddie watched him, her silence giving him permission to continue.

"Like at lunch, Cap was making his chilli – you know the one that hits just right?"

"I'm not sure I'm following."

"Well, turns out that he uses a secret ingredient. Cocoa powder. In chilli? Who knew?"

"Chim..."

"Right, right, sorry." Chimney brushed away the distracted thoughts. "Well, he goes to get it, except Buck is already there, holding it out to him in one hand as if they've done this a million times before. Didn't even flinch. Just carried on with what he was doing."

"This is good though, right?" Maddie couldn't keep the smile from her face, excitement lighting up her eyes. "Dr Trent said routine could help, and if he's remembering the little things, that means the rest is still there."

"And that's the problem..." Chimney let go of a huff, his gaze falling.

"What do you mean?"

A sad smile settled on his lips as he met her gaze. "He's not stupid. He knows we're not telling him everything. He gets this look on his face, like he knows something isn't right. The way he looks at Eddie... I don't know how much he's figured out, but he knows something is up."

Maddie sighed. "And Eddie still isn't budging?"

Chimney shook his head and Maddie shifted from one foot to the other, looking suddenly sheepish.

"Remember how I took those photos and showed them to Buck the other day?"

"Yeah...?"

"He remembered Chris. Or, he remembered his name at least."

Chimney closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "No wonder he's suspicious. That explains why he keeps asking about 'Eddie's kid' but won't ask Eddie to his face." He straightened up, meeting and holding her gaze. "We should tell him – Eddie, I mean. It could be what he needs to pull his head out of his ass."

"I don't know," Maddie answered. "I don't want to give him false hope. What if Buck doesn't remember?"

"He might not remember the details, but he knows there's something there. I swear, it's like being back at square one with these two idiots. We can't just sit back and do nothing. Last time it took them years before they finally realised how they felt about each other, and I'm not sure I, or anyone else at the 118, can go through that again."